Iron Tongue of Midnight

The Forge & Fracture Saga #3

by Brittany N. Williams

The electrifying conclusion to the “glorious” (The New York Times) award-nominated historical fantasy trilogy, The Forge & Fracture Saga.

It all ends with the Fae Queen.
  
Unrestrained by the fractured Pact and its fragile peace, Titanea and her forces grow stronger each day. The Fae openly terrorize London while King James hides in the countryside, protected by the children of the Orisha. Seventeen-year-old Joan Sands must banish the Fae, just as her ancestor did nearly two thousand years ago, but first she’ll have to unravel the mystery behind the original pact.
   
Armed with a magical sword and the power to manipulate and create metal, Joan gathers allies and enemies in unlikely places as the world she knew slips further away. But the children of the Orisha struggle to wield their magic for war, and Joan clashes with the elders who refuse to trust the fate of the world to a child, regardless of her Orisha blessings. All while her two loves, Nick and Rose, grow closer to each other, a prospect more momentous and alluring than Joan ever could have imagined.
   
When a spirit bent on annihilating all who worship the Orisha is unleashed, Joan discovers the unsettling truth behind the original pact. Faced with the lies of the past, the frightening power of the Fae, and a mortal king whose dangerous whims hold her community hostage, Joan must Is the old world worth saving or is it time to forge something frighteningly new?
   
Lauded by Locus Magazine as “vividly expressive, riotously queer, beautifully Black, and wildly creative” this thrilling story delivers an unforgettable finale—and a heroine unlike any other.
  
The Forge & Fracture Saga
That Self-Same Metal (#1)
Saint-Seducing Gold (#2)
Iron Tongue of Midnight (#3)

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance, Queer, LGBT, Fiction

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 22, 2025

About the author

Brittany N. Williams is an actress, writer, and nerd of many fandoms. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Howard University (HU, You Know) and an MA in Classical Acting from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama (Carrie Fisher’s alma mater for 18 months).

Brittany has performed across three continents—including a year spent as a principal vocalist at Hong Kong Disneyland—and her writing has been featured on Black Nerd Problems, Tor.com, in The Indypendent, The Gambit, Fireside Magazine, and in the Star Wars anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. Her first novel, That Self-Same Metal , a YA historical fantasy set in William Shakespeare’s London.

You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @BrittanyActs and at brittanynwilliams.com.

Reviews

[Norell Alesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay ending to an okay series. Of all three books in this series, this one felt the most underdeveloped. Everything felt rushed. The final battle with the fae queen, the relationship between Joan, Nicholas, and Rose, the solution to the problem of the pact, it all felt underwhelming. All of these stories could use some fleshing out, especially the romance. We’re told Nick and Rose are developing feelings for each other, but we don’t see this on the page. They go from making eyes at Joan, to making eyes at each other in the span of a page. No development, no scenes with them and these growing feelings, just them suddenly feeling comfortable enough to kiss each other. I like the idea of a poly relationship, it’s something you don’t often get with characters of color. But I wish we could’ve seen it grow and happen naturally on the page.

Also hated the repeated mentions of Joan merely being a “child.” I don’t remember this being such a thing in the prior books. If I remember correctly Joan is 18/19 years old, which would’ve been of age then, but everyone treats her like a child. Mama Aya constantly calls Joan “child.” Her parents constantly send out of rooms when important meetings take place. And Shakespeare is constantly watching Joan, Nick, and Rose to make sure they don’t kiss.

[Jen W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iron Tongue of Midnight is the third book in Brittany N. Williams's Forge and Fracture series. The series is set in Shakespeare's England and features both fae and faerie magic, and traditional African magic, drawn from the practice of worshiping Orisha.

The main character is Joan, a young Black woman who, at the start of the trilogy, is a disciple of Ogun, Orisha of iron and metal. She is also the fight master for Shakespeare's theater troupe, in which both her twin brother and her love interest are actors.

In the previous two books, the fae, lead by their queen, Titanea, infiltrated the British royal court and shattered the Pact that was forged between the children of the Orisha and the fae to protect mortal kind. Joan, as a child of Ogun, believes she is the only person who can reforge the Pact and save humanity from the bloodthirsty fae. She and her family and allies are currently in hiding from the fae at Shakespeare's home in Stratford-upon-Avon.

This third book, sadly, did not have enough of the acting troupe in it, which were my favorite parts of the first two books. I loved Joan's relationship with the actors and other company members. Due to the higher stakes and higher danger, there was not nearly enough of that camaraderie. My favorite part was Joan's "dog", who I love very much and was a welcome bit of humor during some darker parts of the story.

I also liked how Williams handled the romance. Joan is presented as either bi or pansexual, and has both a male and female love interest. This installment builds on the previous books to establish them not as a love triangle, but as a poly triad, with all three members having feelings for one another.

I was satisfied by the conclusion of the story and the way Joan was able to find her own path, while still relying on her family and allies. I feel like a big theme of this trilogy is tradition vs. finding who you are.

Overall, I would recommend this trilogy to anyone who enjoys historical fantasy, especially Shakespeare or theater fans. Peppered with character based on real-life people, including Shakespeare himself, this is a well-researched and enjoyable YA fantasy series.

[Silverperri · Rating 3 out of 5]

So that concludes the Forge & Fracture saga! I enjoyed this book just as I did the other entries in the series, though I personally felt like the themes could've been paid off a bit better. My biggest gripe was that the conclusion comes a little too easily-- I felt as though Joan accidentally killing Titanea, and especially King James dying offscreen, was kind of the least interesting way to use those characters, especially given Joan's growing questioning of whether she'd be right to put James back on the throne. I don't like that a potentially difficult and consequential choice is removed there; it's like if President Coin just died off-screen in Mockingjay. Plus, I think an opportunity was missed for Joan to willingly go into the climax with her allies instead of just having them show up-- that could've been a great way to show her finally accepting that she doesn't have to go into every situation alone, which is a reoccurring thing we see her grapple with. In general, I think the resolution could've been a little more challenging, Joan's pivotal choices could've been a bit more difficult, and a bit more could've been lost along the way.

Still though, I was entertained throughout, and I really do love this cast of characters and this world. I applaud Brittany N. Williams for this lovely, niche, very very gay trilogy, and I had lots of fun spending my time with it.

[Skye Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good conclusion to this trilogy! This world is so interesting, this plot was action-packed and these characters are easy to love and root for! Joan is such a strong, badass main character and I loved watching her grow and build relationships. I actually like the way the love triangle turns out too! Normally I’m not the biggest fan of love triangles, but the way this one played out was so well done! The writing throughout this whole series has been phenomenal and I think Brittany N. Williams has wonderful storytelling in the way she weaves her plot together. This was just so good to me! I really enjoy this world and am sad to be done with it!! I also just love the incorporation of Shakespeare’s plays and also how GOOFY of a character he is!! I would love some novellas from different characters POVs because there are so many good ones and they all have great personalities and were complex and well-written! AND I WANT MORE FROM THEM!! But, like I said this was a good conclusion and I’m glad everything wrapped up nicely and came full circle! There are also MANY twists and turns that kept me reading, though there were a couple parts that started to drag a bit in the beginning and middle!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is a good conclusion to the trilogy, it's not my favorite book in the series and I was hoping for more from it.

One of the biggest strengths of this series was the Shakespeare's company and their banter were missed here. It just didn't see the same without the players fully involved in things. I also found it odd that Joan keeps getting called "child" by so many people when she's in her late teens and in that time period would be seen as practically an adult. I know part of it is just the immortal beings opinion of humans. The Rose-Nick bit feels like it came out of nowhere... I don't mind that plot development, but wish there had been more of an actual growing of attraction between the two instead it feels more like a super convenient move given that Joan is romantically interested in both of them.

Savy Des-Etages does a decent job with the audiobook narration though I didn't love all the voices used.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review:

This book was an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. The magic, the characters, and the setting were all incredible! Joan was amazing in this one, like the others. She was kicking ass and being an incredible person. Titania sucked so much! She was evil! I loved the relationships in this book, both romantic and familial. The writing was just as incredible as the first two and made you visualize the setting and story so well. The ending was perfect for the trilogy, and I am sad it is over. I rolled my eyes at Shakespeare and his little comments about Joan and her relationship. It gave me a good laugh at how he was dramatic about it all. Overall, it was a great read and conclusion. I can't wait to see what this author writes next!

[Scarlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a highly anticipated finale to a trilogy, this was such a letdown for me. The pacing felt off - we don’t even get to the final battle until the last chapter or two, and Joan spends the whole book being equal parts reckless and too focused on her love situation with no real payoff for either. I loved how she was so headstrong in the first two books, and this felt so surface level. I also don’t know if this was an issue in the first two because I had listened to audio for them, but there were so many editing mistakes that it honestly took me out of the story.

Rated 3 stars because I could see why others would really love this, and I didn’t hate it, it just was a let down.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manages to neatly wrap everything up the loose threads of plot that are swirling in the background of the trilogy, and give our main a relatively happy ending all things considered. (yay for YA starting to hear about triads). Williams also manages to do really good fight scenes, which is impressive. Definitely would recommend this to YA readers who would like a fae twist on Shakespearean England and a Black girl main.

[Jason Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic and thrilling conclusion to an excellent trilogy. I loved all three, but this one is my favorite. I'm scared to say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything. Grab this series right away if you like magic, swordplay, love, and danger. Meferefun.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75
I enjoyed it, but there was A LOT happening in these pages. The last book seemed almost too slow and this one was too fast.
Great world building and representation! Nick and Rose and Joan are amazing together and I wish we could have seen more of their relationship.

[Elle]

This whole series has been so rich and carefully crafted, both world-wise and narratively. I’m a sap for well-crafted fae schemes and Shakespeare, so I knew I’d enjoy it, but both the characters and the questions over what justice and peace really mean will sit with me for some time.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice ending to the trilogy. Plenty of nail biting moments, and a fulfilling ending.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

solid fantasy, lots of fight scenes 😁